In The Forest
by Raven Frost Feather
Summary: Smellerbee has been hurt and the Freedom Fighters are taking it pretty hard. Will she be okay? This story leads on to tell of the lives of all the Freedom Fighters and their never-ending fight against the Fire Nation.
1. Smellerbee's Battle Wound

_Well, this idea sprang into my head while I was procrastinating from my homework. Actually, it was more of a fantasy than a story. I acted it out in my room (yes, that's how bored I was with my worksheet), and the whole thing eventually ended with Smellerbee (me) fainting and being carried back to the hideout by Jet (yep. That bored.) Oh, if only Jet were real =)...wait, scratch that. We have enough egotistical maniacs in the world right now. Sorry Jet =)._

_I don't own Avatar, and no, I don't mean what I said about Jet. He is kinda creepy sometimes, though...  
_

_Oh, and two nights ago, the idiot Long Feng was in my dream, and I got seriously mad at him for bothering my grandma, but I ended up catching him in the hallway to her house and punching him in the face! Four times! That was so cool! Quote: "Looks like Long Feng is long gone!" Classic Sokka. =)  
_

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Why does everything have to happen to me? The hog-monkey just happened to get into _my_ room and steal _my_ armor. What does he need it for!?! And on the same day Jet calls for an attack...

Pipsqueak and The Duke had discovered a Fire Nation campsite not too far from the hideout- too close for comfort. Jet immediately started giving orders on our plan of action. Unfortunately, things didn't go according to plan.

We played it out the way we usually do: wait in the trees for Jet's signal, then attack. I was especially cautious because, thanks to that stupid hog-monkey, I was armorless.

During the fight I ended up next to Longshot, with one soldier firebending and three others shoving spears at us. I knocked a spear out of one guys hands and pushed him into another, but just as Longshot was going for the third, the firebender shot a blast my way. I stumbled backwards into a tree, but just as I'd gotten up and grabbed my dagger, the soldier I'd pushed was already in my face with a spear.

Then it happened. Just as the man was about to skewer me against the tree, I simply forced the spear away from my chest with my hand. Big mistake. I hadn't stopped the weapon from coming; I'd just shifted it's course to my lower right. And it ended up hitting me anyway. I now had a deep gash in my side, and I cried out as I grabbed myself. This was definitely the worst day to be missing my armor.

Luckily Longshot was still nearby and he took care of the soldier before the spear hit again. I was in shock and I fell to the ground, still clutching my side. "Smellerbee!" Jet sent the last soldier running before he rushed over to me and kneeled by my hurt side. "Let me see." I pulled my hands away from the wound so he could look it over. All the other Freedom Fighters were standing by with worried looks on their faces.

I didn't realize how bad the injury was until I saw the look of pure horror on Jet's face. And a few seconds later I completely blacked out.

And while unconscious I dreamed of kicking a certain hog-monkey out of a tree...

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So, there you have it. My personal fantasy has now been turned into an Avatar fanfiction. Yay.

Thanks for reading! =) Tell me what you think of this first chapter!

Second chapter's coming soon! Unless school gets in the way...if only summer lasted two more months, and then I'd be ready for it! -_-


	2. Jet's Concern

When I saw the gash on Smellerbee's side and the blood coming from it, I panicked. I panicked even more when she fainted. I had to get her back to the hideout _fast_.

I carefully picked her up, then turned to my crew. "Pipsqueak, Sneers, patrol the area and make sure all the soldiers are gone. Duke, Longshot, come with me." I was afraid for Smellerbee, of course, but I managed to stay in control. Otherwise, who would?

I turned and walked in the direction of the treehouses. I made The Duke walk behind me so he couldn't see Smellerbee; he already looked like he was on the verge of tears. Longshot walked beside me, glancing at Smellerbee's unconscious form nearly every five seconds. He always seemed to get along with Smellerbee the most, so I guess he worried about her most.

As we neared the hideout Smellerbee began to wake up. "Don't worry. We're almost there." I told her. She nodded weakly and passed out again a second later.

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Once we'd bandaged her up, I told the others to go and I would wait for her to wake up. The Duke listened and walked out of her room, but Longshot seemed to hesitate. Finally, he turned and walked out.

So I sat there on a stool next to her bed and waited. About ten minutes later, Smellerbee woke up. She looked around with a confused look on her face, and when she tried to sit up, she groaned and her hand shot to her side.

"Stay down or it'll start bleeding again," I told her. That was stupid of me. She hadn't even noticed I was in the room until I spoke, and she nearly punched me in the face (or she would have if I were shorter) before she realized it was me. She groaned again. "Oh, it's you." She winced in pain and looked down at the bandages.

"You had us worried. That soldier got you pretty bad."

She nodded and held her side again. "I know..."

I stood up. "You rest for a while. I'm going to get you some food."

She nodded in thanks as I turned to leave. I looked back once and saw a look of anger on her face. Apparently, she wasn't too happy with being beaten by a Fire Nation soldier. But hey, who would be?

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Yes! Second chapter: COMPLETE =)

By the way, right now I'm working on a letter to Nickelodeon asking that they tell us what happened to Longshot and Smellerbee (in the form of a TV show of course) and at least a _little _bit of their history, and if they end up a couple!. I don't completely know how to phrase it just yet, but hopefully I'll figure something out. If you want to help the cause, you can write a letter too! But that's if you're as crazy as me, and if you're an insane Avatar fa- no, an insane _Longshot and Smellerbee_ fan! Do YOU have what it takes?

=( =| =] =) =D


	3. Longshot's Determination

Author's Note: Hey, I'm updating this chapter with a slightly different version (only a few sentences were added and a couple revised).

* * *

I didn't realize what had happened until I saw Smellerbee holding her side and blood on her hand.

I couldn't take my eyes off her when Jet carried her back to the hideout. I helped him tend to her wound. I stood and watched her until Jet gave the order to leave. I hesitated, but the look on his face told me I should listen. He was my leader; what could I do?

The image of Smellerbee lying helplessly on the forest floor would not leave me head. Her life blood had been draining from her side, and its a miracle she did not die before we reached the treehouse. That scene will haunt me forever.

Smellerbee is my best friend. I remember how she couldn't stand me when we first met. We had found her alone in the forest; she had been hurt the way we had been, and had the same drive to get rid of them as we did. Things went smoothly with her until Jet gave me the responsibility of showing her the ropes of being a Freedom Fighter. Her confusion turned to frustration when she realized I was not going to answer any of her questions. But somehow, she came to understand me more than any of the others. She was a blessing that took the place of all the loved ones the Fire Nation had stolen from me.

I couldn't lose her, too.

I sat on the edge of a platform and stared down at the forest floor through the leaves. I could just make out the figures of Pipsqueak and Sneers coming back from their assignment. I sat for a while longer, lost in thought, until a large brown figure caught my eye. I looked down and saw that it was a hog-monkey, but there was something else. I squinted and saw that the animal was holding the only thing that could have prevented Smellerbee's injury: her armor.

That animal was really stupid to come back here.

By the time I was down from the hideout, it had climbed a tree and was sitting on a high branch, studying the armor. With determination I climbed another tree and crouched on a branch at the same level as his. He hadn't spotted me yet, so I readied my weapon for the kill.

I aimed. I shot. He fell.

* * *

As I made it back into the treehouse, Jet met me walking across the bridge.

"Where were you?" he asked. I held up my prize.

"Wow. How'd you get that back?"

I patted by arrowbag.

"Oh. Well, I was coming to tell you Smellerbee woke up a few minutes ago. I think she'll be okay, but don't bother her for a while. She's pretty mad."

I nodded and walked past him. All right, I wouldn't bother her, but I at least had to see her.

I stepped quietly into her room, met by a welcoming smile. "Longshot! There you are."

I greeted with a smile of my own. She's okay, I thought to myself. But the groan when she tried to sit up told me otherwise.

I walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, willing her to lay back down. She sighed and did as she was told.

I held up the armor. She gasped and her eyes opened wide. It was broken and tattered, but it looked like the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. "Thank you, Longshot."

I gave her a nod and set it down next to her bed. Suddenly her smile faded and she looked away.

"Longshot...what are we doing here?"

I raised an eyebrow, unsure what she meant.

"I mean, here in the forest. We're just a bunch of kids. We can't possibly beat those soldiers. We're hardly helping anyone."

I didn't know how to answer that.

"I know it sounds silly, but...I think we should leave. Before anything else happens."

I couldn't stay quiet any longer. "No. If we leave, the Fire Nation will stay. We have to keep up hope."

She didn't hold back. "Don't you think I know that, Longshot? We've all tried to keep up hope, but they have EVERY advantage over us! We don't stand a chance. They're evil and heartless and-" she stopped. She couldn't handle it anymore. She burst into tears, not caring that I was there to see.

Her words hit me harder than any weapon. She was right...but I couldn't leave her to suffer in the harsh truth of it all. I knelt beside her bed and took her hand. "Don't worry. I'm here with you. I always will be."

She looked at me, tears overflowing. "But what if they take you away?"

"They won't. And they won't ever take you away, either."

I would make sure of that.


	4. Smellerbee's Rebellion

**Wow...haven't updated since July 2010...sorry about that ^^; I decided to go back to Smellerbee's point of view because I couldn't figure out what to write for Pipsqueak, The Duke, or Sneers. Smellerbee I'm more used to ^^ Enjoy!**

Smellerbee's POV

It's been a couple of weeks since the incident. The first few days, Longshot was with me all the time, until Jet kicked him out of my room saying I needed rest. And even then he would sneak silently back in to keep me company.

But he hasn't shown up lately. He began to visit me less and less, and then stopped coming altogether. I haven't been allowed back on missions yet, but I've been able to leave the hideout with some of the younger kids more often, helping to gather berries and such from the woods. But having the kids around me is different than having Longshot. Having someone to talk to is different than having someone to listen.

This morning I finally figured out his reasons for not coming. It was kind of uncalled for, what The Duke and Pipsqueak told me. I was in the woods, picking off ripe red berries from a bush and dropping them into a little sack. They came to me with concerned faces, and I stopped what I was doing to hear the news.

The Freedom Fighters were disbanding. Jet had decided it was time to leave the forest behind, to give all the kids who lived in the hideout a chance to start anew. Living in the forest was apparently not the kind of life any of us needed.

Not that I didn't want this to happen. I agreed with Jet completely; nobody really wanted to be here. We just didn't have much choice in the matter.

But what did any of this have to do with Longshot going missing?

They told me he'd been busy helping Jet make the plans. Everyone had to leave with someone, to ensure safety in numbers, and Longshot knew who to place in what group. There was a leader in each group, and they would be directing the way to whatever town that group was going to.

Great. That was an absolutely perfect plan. Everyone would leave safely to their destination, no one would be alone. So why did these two look so worried?

What they told me next caught me off guard. I'm a pretty hard person to scare, and almost nothing surprises me. But I could only stare in shock as Pipsqueak explained further.

"Longshot refuses to come. He said he's staying here in the forest."

I suddenly began to shout. "Is he CRAZY? He can't stay here! The Fire Nation is here! If he's found, he'll be killed!"

The Duke piped up. "That's what Jet told him, but he wouldn't say anything back."

"Then...I'll stay here with him!"

"No you won't." At the sound of that voice, all heads turned. Jet came to stand in front of me, towering over me, making me seem more like a little kid than a teenager.

"Why not? We can't just leave him here!" I protested.

Jet sneered. "It's his choice if he wants to get himself caught by the Fire Nation. As for you, you're coming with me to Ba Sing Se."

At that point I was filled with rage. Yes, he was my leader, the one I took orders from, the one whose bidding me and the other Freedom Fighters carried out. But I was _not_ about to let him drag me along with him _anywhere, _especially if Longshot wasn't coming with us! "I'm not going ANYWHERE WITH YOU!"

Perhaps I spoke a little too quickly...and a little too loudly. Jet was now furious, and glared at me threateningly. He leaned down toward me until we were face to face, angry sword-carrying leader against angrier knife-wielding warrior. When he finally spoke it was slowly, emphasizing every word as if I couldn't understand any other way. _"I really don't care what you or any of the others say. MY word is final. You'd better remember that."_

He walked off, the others glancing at me sadly and then following. No, I wasn't going to remember that. Because if he couldn't get Longshot to obey him, then his word obviously wasn't final.

If I could get Longshot to listen to me, though...that was a different story.


End file.
